<p>Every family does it differently, depending on the kid, family finances, etc. $200 a month worked for us. We do pay for books and cell phone. If the kids want to live small, they can keep whatever money they have left over. If they want to live large, they are going to have to tap their savings.</p>
<p>Some of you holier than thous should withhold judgment. You have no idea of our family values or situation and what we are requiring our d to pay. I am simply asking for a point of reference to begin with and adjust from there. Our daughter will be thousands of miles and several time zones from us. Getting money to her won’t be as simple as some of you. I am simply trying to budget so we don’t give her too much or too little. If you don’t give your child a monthly allowance, why did you even respond?</p>
<p>Thank you to all of you that gave a simple answer to a simple question.</p>
<p>You might also look into bank fees for ATM withdrawals as well. DD has an account with the bank that is easiest to use around campus and lucky for us, it has a branch in our town, but we do not bank at that bank. We put my name on the account, so I can easily bank for her. </p>
<p>Don’t worry to much about those who judge on here. Ellemenope said it best: every family does it differently. I am very proud of our daughter because she chose the scholarship over the very big name school and is saving us a bundle.</p>
<p>You’ll have to forgive the CC community, iluvhs. Here, there is no simple answer to a simple question. LOL!</p>
<p>Some parents may not realize that giving a kid spending money for college is not necessarily universally done. It’s nice to get a perspective from all…</p>
<p>As for getting money to your kid, there are lots of threads about the best way to do it. It is sure easy for me now–since D and I bank at the same national bank, I can transfer money from my account into her account online. She either uses her debit card to buy things or takes money out of the ATM to make cash purchases. Works like a dream!</p>
<p>Since we have been living overseas for the last 6 years, my d does not have a work visa and therefore illegal to work until she gets back to the states this August for school.</p>
<p>Judge not lest ye be judged…</p>
<p>makes sense with your d far from home you would want to be sure that she will have what she needs…agree with posters about it varying on circumstances. I give my two college kids approx 150-200 per month. my s is far away (15 hrs) and d much closer (3 hrs) – so I get to see d more frequently, etc. </p>
<p>As MDMom said, I also found it helpful for them to have a checking account attached to a debit card for those possible situations where they need access…seems to be working well for our family. They’re getting familiarized with banking. Also, both my kids chose colleges where they earned full scholarships which helps on all fronts…</p>
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<p>Oh, yeah! That reminds me. My sister says that if ATM were a college course then niece would have completely flunked. She had to learn the hard way that the ATM still spits out $$ even when the checking account is empty. Racked up hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. </p>
<p>Things are saner now that she manages a savings account. No money comes out of the magic machine when she’s broke. 
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>No judgment from me at all OP. I don’t give an allowance; both kids earned their spending money. Actually s still is. I agree. It’s difficult with EC’s. I told them we would give them an allowance but D spent so much money in NYC I would not have been able to keep her going.</p>
<p>She worked in the Provost’s office and babysat. But her grandmother did send her $100 per month on top of her earnings.</p>
<p>We told DS that his EC’s were important and he didn’t have to work. He elected to work in the library for spending money. </p>
<p>I am not judgmental at all, just explaining how it worked out. I don’t think they wanted us judging how they spent their money. D was on the meal plan and bought sushi all the time, and S spent his taking his girlfriend out to dinner, something I wouldn’t want to subsidize. As a feminist, I thought they should split it. But if S wanted to spend his money that way, that was his affair.</p>
<p>I did however, give S my old car when he became a junior. I pay the car insurance and all repairs. He buys his gas.</p>
<p>I agree with all who suggested a debit card and an account at a bank you can get to, if possible. Your name on the account is helpful too, and mine were 17 when they started so they needed my name.</p>
<p>We often drive to the bank and deposit cash when there’s an unforeseen necessity and then they have it immediiately.</p>
<p>iluvhs: I think you need to ignore post that don’t tell you anything relevant and make use of those that does.</p>
<p>This is how I think you proceed with banking arrangements.
Pick a national/international bank that bank on or near the college campus and also accessible to you too.
- Let your DD open a saving and checking account in that bank jointly with you.
- Ask if your DD can get approval for an unsecured Credit Card with the bank.
- You can put a fixed amount to her checking account every month.
- Fund her saving account with an amount you feel comfortable that she could use for emergencies.
- Open an account with the Airline you frequently use inside or outside USA travel and have one of your Credit Card on the file. She should be able to use that account to book a ticket back to you when ever she feels like without bothering about money in her checking or saving account.</p>
<p>Since you are so away from DD you need to make sure she always have fund to fly back. That is why I’ll strongly recommend an account with a CC on file for her to book tickets.</p>
<p>I’d budget 7-10 dollars per week for laundry money
And after that, a couple of hundred dollars a month for movies, eating out, clothes, assorted toiletries etc and she’ll be well cared for. That’s not factoring in what she’ll need for books. </p>
<p>I can’t say enough that it’s a good idea for her to have at least one bank account that is joint with you, preferable at your home bank so that you can easily deposit money into her account. I was cross the country from my parents and while they didn’t give me a monthly allowance, in the case of emergencies or other special needs, this helped a lot. They could just go online and transfer the funds right away. I also gave my mom my account number for my personal bank account that I opened at school, so she can go to that bank’s branch and deposit in that if neccessary.</p>
<p>A joint account is one way to go. Each of my sisters and I had a credit card of my parents’ that was to be used only in emergencies or with prior authorization, and we used it as instructed.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with getting a part time job for pocket money and learning the value of a dollar. In this house parents take care of the tuition, housing and meals, car, and insurance and the student takes care of his own expenses above and beyond that.</p>
<p>Nobody is judging you.</p>
<p>This question gets asked a lot… Some who ask have never considered having their kids earn their own spending money, so when they hear that others do that, it makes some think that maybe that option is a possibility. </p>
<p>And…some parents just prefer to give their kids an allowance. No judgment.</p>
<p>My D is also very very far from home. On the first of each month I transfer $200 into her bank account. This is for incidentals…she has a meal plan already. She manages to budget it and even go on shopping trips for “bargains”. A couple of times I have given her extra…for instance when she was going with some friends for a “shopping trip” …this was given without her asking for it.</p>
<p>I remember asking this question! We determined $40 per week while she was in the dorm–she did earn the $ working during the summer- but sticking to hitting the ATM for $40 once a week kept her accountable and the account full for the year. Wait till your D moves into an apartment! How much does a girl need beyond rent and utilities–that has been a work in progress.</p>
<p>Bottom line- if you need a new dress for a sorority event—time to have cup a noodles for dinner! It all works out----she is at UC Davis and most college kids are on budget–they are all in the same boat!</p>
<p>Regarding sorority dues—at UCD she pays $440 per quarter (3 times a year) not living in. Sounds like a bargain compared to other schools! She will live in next year and that will be $440 per month with utilities but no food. </p>
<p>The joy of Davis–reasonable rents can be found! But Starbucks costs the same!</p>
<p>I am with Dad II & Mom 2—</p>
<p>Our oldest got her “spending money” from her summer job/s. We sent the school our share of its tuition. </p>
<p>We also sent her there with a carful of stuff like laundry detergent and toiletries. The school store overcharges like mad on those things. And freshmen don’t have cars to drive to the supermart. </p>
<p>We helped her open an account at the local decent bank there, and she also had an account with the same credit union as my H. In emergencies he could make a deposit to her acct in that if needed. </p>
<p>Regarding earning $$, I found that babysitting while at college is pretty good. You get to study while the kid sare asleep and you are still being paid. You are paid in cash and none is taken from you for SS or taxes. If you have a work study job it does not count towards your total from that.</p>
<p>I actually think it’s better for students to get research or office jobs while in college, rather than babysitting jobs, if at all possible. It is important to build one’s resume to get internship later. Some students work not just for monetary reason.</p>
<p>My kids had a budget before they went to college of 20K per year from us for all college expenses (tuition, room and board, discretionary, etc). If they spend less, they can use it post graduation at our discretion. If spending money is in that budget, they can have some. If not, they would earn it. Currently, my son at UNC-CH gets $100/month. Fortunately in-state tuition is in our budget. He usually spends more and taps into money from a summer job. It took some getting used to, but I no longer get calls asking for money. He knows how much he has. My daughter will be the same deal. </p>
<p>Wells Fargo is the bank with ATMs most prevalent on UNC campus. Like other parents, I just transfer $100 auto payment to his checking account and he uses a debit card. Nothing, besides meal plan stuff is on he One card. He transfers money from his account to the One card for laundry.</p>
<p>We found it easier to have D and I have a joint account at the bank where Mr. Arabrab & I have our accounts. D also has an individual account at that bank. I transfer a lump into the joint account with D, and D then moves it as necessary into her own account, all using on-line banking. Our bank does not charge for the first 3 “foreign” (ie, not belonging to our bank) withdrawals a month. I think she’s only gotten money out locally once though – school turns out to be very much not a cash economy, even for laundry and copying. She still had some cash from August when we were there at Parents’ weekend in mid-October.</p>
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<p>I found out by accident that my brother and my sister (both who do not have kids of their own) sent my kids substantial checks ($500) out of the blue on occasion while the kids were in college. It was very generous of them!</p>